Counterbalancing means for pivoted motor suction cleaners



2,632,916 COUNTERBALANCING MEANS FOR PIVOTED MOTOR SUCTION CLEANERSFiled May 20. 1950 March 31, 1953 v w. A. HUMPHREY 3 Sheets-Sheet l-Mafor Hood INVENTOH. l/arrnfi Humphrey BY I 9 ATTORNEY.

March 31, 1953 w HUMPHREY 2,632,916

( JOUNTERBALANCING MEANS FOR PIVOTEQ MOTOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed, May20, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOB. Warren #2 Humphrey ATTORNEY.

March 31, 1953 w. A. HUMPHREY COUNTERBALANCING MEANS FOR PIVOTED'Mii'wosdcrron CLEANERS Filed May 20, 1950 "a Sheets-Sheet s I IN VENTOR. warren ,6? Humphrey a .5, mu (L ATTORNEY.

7 position.

G HNZIERBA :FDBflVQIIEJ MOTOR SUCTION onnm vnns eh Ami e Dimer, C ten heHoover :C mpe v. ihlesth leerhetas Hnef .Qhi

npplieatio M v $0. 1950, Serial -16 .206

cember 324, '19d0. A

:In machines .oi the i above type the handle and exhaust passage arerigidawith:themqtor-fanpeasmg. The upper rend oi the filter bag ;iscarried by 13118 handle and is ldetachabl-y secured 11:0 Lthe (exhaustpassage at its lower end. .Acco r iing $130 .the present invention .theweight of the handle and filter :bag is counterbalanced :by the weightof the motor. The motors-Ian easing is rDiVOtEd on the :motor shaft axisand a horseshoe type 'unicoil :motor is provided in which the iield ofthe motor is extended forwardly from the :motor shaft axis. When*the:handle is in .itsloperating position the weight aof :the -motor :fleldcounter.- balances the weight-of the handleand Joag when the cleaner isin use and holds the handle in its vertical storage position when placed=inithat That arrangementalso permits the fieldstructuretooccupyaposition in the main frame not otherwise occupied andfacilitates the provision of air circulating means -ior the ventilationof the-motor. "The motor extends ferwardly beneath a hood on top of themain frameeinto a space otherwise-unoccupiedand-has ventilating airinlet openings beneath the hood {so that air is draw-n "inwardly frombeneath the hood, {lows through the motor and is discharged downwardly--and rearwardly from the motorecasingp --I'hat ar- {rangement permitsthe ventilating openings to be hidden from vieweven though the ventilat-'ing structuregmust of necessity-move -withthe rnotor casing in itspivotal movement.

Qt er hieets nd ad an a o thi n nn (or leaem ti wil become ap re t he deri t nreeeeds when .tahe 1 h eehhe iieh i h th aee mhehyihe. drawings inwhich;

Ei te 1 a persp t e v ew oi the c e ne 9i ih in e t o w th ce t in parthie m w th porti ns o the eas n h eh hewe s .R hhe 3 is a r ss:se t eh lv wef th pmete t els hieh ine le -1e o his- 2 and eehih th direeii h e te ehr s: and

.h iei re i a cross-seehenel view threhsh th motor taken on in thedirection of the arrows.

line 4-4 of Fig.2 and loqlging tenymovementeni re hd ar J22-s1wespectiilely, and

above mentioned patent 110 forms *both the suction ha passage 13'extending upwardly and-re is -rotatably mounted in the nozzle :13 ,-a;

a 12 ferri to the .dhew e :toiEig. lstheqeleaner of t V amainrrameerehanh {I 0 en ed w th a ewn- =ward'1y facing nozzle 13 witthe-bum;per, guard it has asingle passa fi sll v. otai axis of the motor-,fan 1 tunnel as will appear zherei-nafte a. a

The main irame .l:0 isprovid iththesuctign from the nozzle -13 to :thefan eye 15. A ul 1 forming an extension of the motor ian' extendsthrough the fan eye A5 7 passage l3' as shownin :Fig. driag ta. or IEQliflfi by a belt i=6 extending upwardly land rearwardly through thesuction --passa,ge :13 and encircles r-the pulley lfi in-a mannerwellknowninthe rt. --The-motor fan-casing 18 is .pivotedr-toith ainframe in by trunnion bearings 1:9 landdfl {(FiggB) The trunnion bearingI9 is :in :the form -of 1a the construction shown in "Fig. *3 of thepatent to :Burkhardt above mentioned. A leaf spring 121 is provided totalge up any end play in the trunnion bearings. v

Housed within the motor housing 23 :h h par- 'tially within the casing18 is the'mote-r proper comprising field "laminations 60, a single field99111331 and a rotor 32 mounted for rotation on s itable hea ings a axiscoincident i the axis oi trunnions i9 and "'29. The lam-inations 3!) arepositioned within the housing =23 'py cooperating lugs 28 "2 9 i8 and 29concentric wit the met sh t a i s h th c lin cal portion 30' of the/legsof the laminations '30 partially encircle the rotor 32 and areconcentric therewith when s e led Rigid with theoasing i8 is a handlesocket 33 andan exhaust nozzle -34 detachably receiving the lower openend of a filter bag 35, the elosed Poppe .ehsi e whic i supp te by thehandle 36. In Fig. '1 the 'handle -36 shown in its hermal operatingposition and it is to be noted that the heaviest part of the fieldlaminations 30 and the coil 3| extend directly forwardly from the axisof the trunnions l9 and 20 so that the Weight of the handle 36 and thebag 35 is counterbalanced by the weight of the field laminations and thecoil 3|.

During operation of the cleaner, the handle 35 is moved upwardly anddownwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 through an operating rangeof movement. The normal operating range of movement of a suction cleanerhandle takes place between a position substantially 30 below thevertical position to a position in which the handle extends backwardlysubstantially horizontally.

Mounted on top of the main frame In is an appearance hood 40, theforward portion of whichis provided with a light transmitting lens 4|behind which a light may be mounted for illuminating the surface infront of the cleaner. A furniture guard 40' of rubber or other suitableplastic material extends over the forward portion of the hood 40rearwardly of the nozzle [3.

The motor housing 23 extends outwardly from the casing I8 into a spacein the main frame H] beneath the hood 4!] and is provided with aventilating air inlet opening 50 (Figs. 2 and 3). The inlet 58communicates with a passage (Fig. 4) extending downwardly about the coil3!. From the passage 5| the cooling air passes between the armature 32and the surface 30 of laminations -36, past the commutator 52, through acentral opening 53 in the brush holder 54, through the "motor coolingfan 5'5 and is discharged downwardly and rearwardly from the motorhousing -32, the fan and the casing l8 being generally symmetrical thepositioning of the laminations and coil forwardly, throws the center ofgravity of the pivoted structure well forward of its pivotal axis. .Whenthe handle 36 is in a vertical position the center of gravity of thepivoted structure will be below and forward of the pivotal axis thereofso as to hold the handle in its vertical storage position against asuitable stop which may be provided for that purpose.

The positioning of the major portion of the field laminations 30 and thefield coil 3| forwardly in addition to counterbalancing the handle whenthe cleaner is in use and holding it in a vertical storage position whenthe cleaner is not in use also renders it possible to position the endof the casing in which the motor is positioned beneath the hood 40 sothat all of the ventilating duct openings are hidden from view. As willbe obvious in a suction cleaner of the pivoted motor fan type theventilating system of the motor must form a part of the pivotedstructure and the positioning of the motor as above describedcontributes to that end.

While I have shown but a single embodiment of my invention it is to beunderstood that that embodiment is to be taken as illustrativ only andnot in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particularstructure shown and 7 described but to include all equivalent variationsJ,;. A suction cleaner comprising, a main chas- 4 sis including a nozzlemounted for ambulatory movement, a motor-fan unit including a casingpivoted to said chassis on a transverse horizontal axis, a handle andexhaust nozzle rigid with said casing, a filter bag having an open lowerend secured to said exhaust nozzle and its'closed upper end supportedfrom said handle, the arrangement being such that said handle has anormal operating range inclined upwardly and rearwardly from said casingfrom an angle of approximately 30" from the vertical to an angleapproaching the horizontal and a motor positioned in said casin in suchmanner as to posi tion the major portion of the weight of the entirepivotal structure forwardly of the pivotal axis of said casingthroughout the entire range of movement of said handle in its inclinedoperating range whereby to counterbalance the weight of said handle andfilter bag.

2. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 in which said motor includes arotor rotatably mounted on the pivotal axis of said casing, U- shapedlaminations the legs of which substantially embrace said rotor with theclosed end thereof extending forwardly of the pivotal axis of saidcasing when said handle is in its operating range and a field coilsurrounding the closed end of said laminations.

3. A suction cleaner according to claim 2 in which said casing is formedwith a motor ventilating passage including an air inlet positionedabove. the pivotal axis of said casing when said handle is positioned inits operating range, an air duct leading from said inlet forwardly anddownwardly about the closed end of said laminations and about said fieldcoil, laterally betweensaid rotor and the legs of said laminations anddownwardly and rearwardly to an air exit formed in the bottom rearportion of said casing.

4. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 in which said motor is of theunicoil type having a rotor ,rotatably mounted on the pivotal axis ofsaid casing, field laminations extending forwardly from said rotor and afield coil surroundin the forwardly extending portion of saidlaminations.

5. A suction cleaner according to claim 4 in which said casing isprovided witha ventilating duct leading forwardly and downwardly aboutthe forwardly extending portion of said laminations and about said fieldcoil, laterally between said rotor and laminations and downwardly andrearwardly to an outlet in the bottom rear portion of said casing.

6. A suction cleaner comprising, a main body including a nozzle mountedfor ambulatory movement, a casing pivotally mounted on said body on atransverse longitudinal axis, a motorfan unit in said casing, and ahandle rigid with said casing and extending upwardly and rearwardly whenin its operating range from an angle acute to the vertical to an angleapproaching the horizontal, the motor of said motor-fan unit being ofthe unicoil type having field laminations extending forwardly from thepivotal axis of said casing so as to position the center of gravity ofthe entire pivotal structure forwardly of the pivotal axis thereofthroughout the entire operating range of said handle.

7. A suction cleaner according to claim 6 in which said fieldlaminations and coil are positioned below and forwardly of the pivotalaxis of sa d casing when said handle is in a vertical tpiosition so asto hold said handle in that posi- 8. A suction cleaner comprising, amain body including a nozzle mounted for ambulatory movement, anappearance hood forming the top of said body, a pivoted structureincluding a casing pivotally mounted on said body on a transversehorizontal axis and having one end thereof positioned beneath said hood,a handle rigid with said casing, said handle being movable from asubstantially vertical position to a position approaching thehorizontal, a motor-fan unit within said casing, said unit including amotor positioned in the end of said casing beneath said hood having arotor rotatably mounted on the pivotal axis of said casing, fieldlaminations and a field coil with the major portion of said laminationsand said coil positioned forwardly of said axis so as to position thecenter of gravity of said pivoted structure forwardly of said axisthroughout the entire range of movement of said handle and a ventilatingduct leading from beneath said hood over said laminations, coil androtor and exhausting through an outlet in the rear bottom portion ofsaid casing.

9. A suction cleaner comprising, a main body including a nozzle mountedfor ambulatory movement, a pivotal structure including a motor-' fanunit having a casing pivoted to said body on a transverse horizontalaxis toward the rear of the body and a handle rigidly secured to saidcasing and extending upwardly and rearwardly from an acute angle to thevertical to an angle approaching the horizontal when in its operatingrange and being movable to a vertical storage position, said motor-fanunit bein so positioned in said casing that the center of gravity ofsaid structure is forward of the pivotal axis of said casing when saidhandle is in its operative range and below said axis when said handle isin a vertical position.

. 10. A suction cleaner comprising, a main body including a nozzlemounted for ambulatory movement, a pivotal structure, said structureincluding a motor fan unit having a casing mounted on said body forpivotal movement on a transverse horizontal axis and a propelling handlerigid with said casing, said handle being movable from a verticalstorage position to a position approaching the horizontal, saidmotor-fan unit includin a motor of the unicoil type having the coilthereofpositioned forwardly of said axis in a position to locate thecenter of gravity of said pivoted structure forwardly of said axisthroughout the entire range of movement of said handle.

11. A suction cleaner according to claim 10 in which the location ofsaid coil is such that the.

center of gravity of said pivoted structure is below said axis when saidhandle is in its vertical storage position.

WARREN A. HUMPHREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 464,231 Robinson Dec. 1, 18912,092,778 Riebel Sept. 14, 1937 2,225,621 Burkhardt Dec. 24, 19402,300,266 Smellie Oct. 27, 1942 2,328,184 Becker Aug. 31, 1943 2,343,056Harlett Feb. 29, 1944 2,499,330 Reeves Feb. 28, 1950

